If you are like me, you monitor the national and regional news and get more concerned every day about the future of the nation and our state. The crisis at the border, the continued economic issues around inflation and the national debt, the continued debate regarding climate change and energy production, the external threats to our sovereignty as a nation, educational challenges facing our young people, and the continued examples of people doing harm to others and the related debates on how to address those issues are just some examples of what we are facing today.
Before I go any further, let me clearly state that I am not aligning with any political party. My identity is not found in any of the current options or party platforms. While I may agree with a specific item on various platforms, my focus is to seek real leadership and not party affiliations. It appears to me that political parties, in today’s environment, are more focused on gaining control and maintaining power than serving people. These party options appear to be more concerned with winning an election than leading a nation. They appear more focused on aligning with a large voting block on a single issue than uniting people. They appear to be more interested in taking a far left or right stance to attract voters than working to introduce legislation to better the country. What we see right now is a push for power not a desire to lead.
Let’s look at a commonsense approach to some of the key issues facing our nation:
Crisis at the Border: We need controlled access to the nation as a matter of national security and sovereignty. We don’t allow unlimited/unmonitored access to our homes, but we have major examples of this occurrence on our border. There are very real and evil threats seeking to do harm. Conversely, we need a compassionate, effective process for dealing with immigration requests. I believe there is an approach to effective immigration processing without relinquishing our sovereignty as a nation and protection of our people. Leaders find ways to balance conflicting needs to prioritize those they serve.
Economic Crisis: Whether we look at the current inflation reduction battle with raising interest rates, and the likely negative outfalls of a recession, or the debate over the federal budget and the national debt, one can easily see our economic focus is a mess. The national government flooded the economy with cash in stimulus payments. Couple that fact with shutdowns, and you have the perfect storm for inflation. Too much money chasing too few goods results in inflation. It was an overreaction to meet isolated needs. Today, we see the same overreaction to combat inflation, and the result will be recession, job loss, and economic struggle if we aren’t careful.
Since when is spending more than you take in on an ongoing basis year after year ever a good idea? Where’s the breaking point to where we have a total collapse, or another country essentially owns us? Leaders don’t always please everyone, but they look out for the long-term interest of those they lead. They look, think, and act with long-term consequences in mind (not short-term elections).
Various other issues: It seems like extremism gets the media attention and sways the reactions from those in public office. Most of our nation is not on either extreme. However, the majority closer to the middle are not polarizing and don’t make for interesting interviews on TV. Compromise, calm negotiations, and rational ideas aren’t really eye catching on soundbites. They are, however, effective in setting policy, uniting a nation, and leading a country.
As you continue to engage in discussion on these matters with others, form your own opinions, share your ideas, and demand more leaders and fewer politicians. Let’s seek people who desire to lead and not those pushing a party platform seeking power. Everyone deserves good leadership and so few are getting it today.
